Inertia Creeps by Elektra Pendragon The club was in high swing, filled to the dark corners with young people half-dressed and moving in time with the music. A skinhead waggled his pierced tongue at a woman who shrank from him. An androgynous child moved sensuously against a white-skinned goth. Two women, close enough to be twins, bewitched a pretty man between them. The hard beat gave everyone a frantic edge--the dancers couldn't move fast enough, close enough, provocative enough. Stefan was dizzy with the changing, flickering lights amidst the darkness, the nearness of so many dazzling, sex-charged minds Damon gestured grandly around him. "Not exactly a world of innocents, but you should find something you like. Take your pick." His hand lingered at the small of Stefan's back, lightly pressing him forward. Before Stefan stepped away, he leaned close again. "But try to get something interesting." Stefan slipped into the shifting crowd, his eyes easily searching through the darkness as he crept among the mortals. He skimmed faces with his eyes as well as his mind, hunting for the perfect prey without drawing attention to himself. The dancers barely seemed to pay him any mind as he twisted and slid between them, testing and rejecting mortal after mortal. He was becoming an accomplished hunter under his brother's guidance, and after only a few minutes he was centering upon a single person amid the chaos--a young man gyrating his meandering way through the dance floor. Stefan moved up slowly, smiling wickedly at the thought of surprising his brother with something different tonight. The young man was... interesting, to borrow Damon's word. There was nothing innocent about him. The music groaned and whined around them, lending itself perfectly to the stalking sway of Stefan's hips. The stranger danced with a disjointed rhythm, all arms and legs and too long body jerking as though he didn't want to move, but HAD to. It was a gangly /pas seul/, but there was a kind of danger in it. The young man's eyes never closed, and he looked as though he could attack at any moment--wary, even as he brushed against other dancers, pausing long enough to molest them before moving on. He moved through the crowd in a snaking diagonal to Stefan's straight path. Stefan closed in on his prey. He tried to change his movements to match the awkward dance, but the young man didn't move to any rhythm Stefan was familiar with. He found his steps began to glide and slow to the hypnotic beat of the live DJ, almost in a counter-point to the other man. When he finally neared, the stranger barely gave Stefan a glance before he mindlessly gyrated against him. Stefan felt the delightfully warm brush of the man's semi-hard cock against his stomach, and then the young man was turning to move on to the next person. Stefan dared to reach out and hold those bony hips still. Under the music, Stefan could hear the dancer's nearly-animal growl as he froze within Stefan's grasp. He ignored the warning sound and roughly jerked the young man to his chest. Leaning up, he pressed his cheek to the crisp shorn fuzz of the man's hair and growled back. The sound Stefan made was completely animal, completely predatory. He let the noise linger in his throat until the vibration carried down the dancer's spine in a bone-deep shiver. Leaning closer, he ran the very tip of his tongue over the edge of the young man's ear and waited. The young man bristled under Stefan's hands, but didn't move away. Teasing, testing, challenging, Stefan began to move behind him, rolling his hips in small circles to grind against his ass. He let the movement carry up his spine, his body like liquid as he rubbed against the young man's back. Stefan's fingers slipped into the pockets of his jeans, holding him even closer. The music throbbed around them. The stranger slowly responded, his body swaying with Stefan, joining him in the half-dance/half-frottage movements. Stefan could sense Damon's eyes on his back, following the seduction with more than a teacher's rapt attention. The jealous gaze made Stefan feel brazen. He slipped his right hand out of the man's pocket and up his chest. Every rib rippled sharply beneath the thin t-shirt. His stomach was flat, going nearly concave as he stretched under Stefan's touch. The jeans hung loose around his hips; briefly Stefan reached down inside to tease the hot, smooth skin and crisp hair. He allowed himself only a quick touch before he slipped his hand back out, brushing lightly over the denim-covered crotch. The young man seized Stefan's hand in a tight grip and pressed it hard against his erection as he gyrated upwards, shamelessly molesting himself with their entwined fingers. Stefan purred deeply into the young man's ear, his movements becoming even more lurid. The stranger responded with another human growl, but even as he surrendered to the petting, the man was tensed, like a skittish dog ready to run the moment the petting stopped. The music was too loud for any kind of communication other than the growls and grunts they made at each other, but Stefan used the steady, hypnotic beat as he subtly influenced the young man's mind. /Trust me,/ Stefan thought, wrapping it up in sensual touches and a deep-throated purr. It was slight, but the dancer's spine eased just a bit, his tightly-held guard slipping. /Trust me. Want me./ He didn't *need* to suggest the desire--there was no doubt the young man wanted Stefan--but he repeated the words in their thoughts until trust and arousal became one. Until the man was ready to do anything. /Trust me. Want me./ He nuzzled the side of the stranger's head before licking a line down his throat. His skin was salty, unwashed, and tasted like too many nights spent in places like this. The young man's head fell back, his throat vibrating with a low hum of enjoyment. Stefan licked him again and again, until he could taste the fleeting flavor of his beating pulse. The young man turned in Stefan's arms, his own hands coming up to lift Stefan's face and hold him still as he dove down for a searing kiss. There was no art in the embrace, just pure animal desire as the stranger sucked on his lips. Stefan opened his mouth and darted his tongue inside. He licked soft, hot flesh until he felt a solid, smooth mass. A metal bolt. Stefan wrapped his tongue around the piercing, sucking on the stranger's tongue, enjoying the contrast of metal and flesh. He drew it into his own mouth, clicking his teeth against the metal in a way that would have pained a normal human. Somewhere in the back of his mind Stefan knew he should have pretended to wince, but he couldn't be bothered to pretend anymore. Instead, he bit down on the young man's tongue, nearly drawing blood. The stranger enjoyed the pain, moaning as he rubbed against Stefan's thigh. If they kept it up much longer, they'd wind up having sex right there on the dance floor. While Damon's influence gave Stefan a great deal of freedom, he wasn't sure he was ready for that kind of exhibition. It was his brother who enjoyed an audience. He backed the young man towards an exit. The crowd parted around them, no one glancing twice at the entwined pair. They were just one of many. Though he couldn't see Damon for the crowd and darkness, Stefan could feel him following, stalking them. The young man snarled when he bumped into the exit door, but he knocked the bar with a thrust of his ass and the door came open beneath them. They barely took a few steps out before Stefan had the stranger pressed against the wall. The young man sagged in his arms, resting against the brick wall as generously as one would sprawl on a thick mattress. The young man gripped Stefan by the back of the neck as he went in for another kiss. Even as he stretched out under Stefan, the young man was trying to keep control. Stefan could feel a surge of power under the stranger's skin, like a crackle of energy sparking under a thin glass shield. There was a kind of Power there, under the surface. Stefan couldn't place it, but he knew it wasn't a danger to him--he was too strong. He tore away from the young man's mouth and pressed his face into his neck, snuffing out that patch of skin he had licked clean. He tasted it again, sucking hard, keeping himself from biting. The tall stranger stroked the back of his neck as he bent his long body around Stefan. His fingers rubbed right where skull met spine, the bitten-down nails scratching ragged lines around the spot. Stefan felt a disturbing shiver creep down his spine, unsettling him. The younger man bent closer, his head nuzzling up against Stefan's neck as he moved his lips to the spot. Without lifting his face, Stefan thrust the heel of his hand under the stranger's chin and forced his head back. His skull hit the graffitied stone behind him, and his teeth knocked together with an audible clunk. The stranger whined, his mouth gritted in a snarl as both his hands wrapped around Stefan's wrist. He struggled, his thin body writhing and wriggling, but Stefan held him with ease. He clutched the man's hip with one hand and increased the pressure under his chin with the other, threatening to tear him in half. The stranger finally calmed down. Stefan ran his lips over the stranger's throat and jaw up to his ear. He rubbed his mouth against the curve. "I don't know what you thought you were doing, but it isn't going to happen." Stefan could feel the anger and frustration brewing under the man's thoughts, coloring everything dark and ugly. Yes, this one thought to harm someone tonight, possibly kill them. It was something Stefan had sensed right away about the young man--the elusive scent of a predator. Stefan growled again, that deep animalistic sound that the young man's throat could only poorly mimic. He allowed his long fangs to descend finally, feeling every movement as the teeth lengthened and grew sharp. There was such pleasure in the simple change, so many varied levels of feeling as everything became heightened by the rush of the hunt ended. The smell of the alley, the brick, urine, old sex. The taste of the young man's skin, smoky and salty and sour. The sight of the fine tremors under the stranger's skin, belying his angry defiance. The feeling of his breathing, ragged and quick against Stefan's chest. Stefan tilted the young man's chin to the side, his fingers coming down to cover his mouth. The tips of his fingers tingled with the young man's warm breath. Stefan nuzzled his neck again, returning to that area he had so carefully washed and tasted earlier. He ran the long length of his fangs over the skin, letting the stranger feel it all, growling and purring with drunken pleasure. Stefan could feel the young man's breath growing slower and deeper, and he sensed the blurring of his thoughts. It was as though he were about to pass out, but there was a deliberateness beneath the act. "No, you don't," Stefan warned, even as he pressed with his mind. He impressed his thoughts upon the young man, feeling out his defiance and replacing it with feelings of pleasure. The young man shivered, and then groaned. "Yes," Stefan sighed. "You remember..." He focused on the thoughts and feelings from the dance floor, the thrill of the hunt they had both shared. "You like this. You want me." The stranger had, when he had thought he was the hunter. Stefan rubbed upwards, his thigh pressing between the young man's legs. Almost instantly, the stranger responded, writhing back and forth on Stefan's leg, humping like a dog. He started to groan aloud, short, sighed sounds of confused pleasure. Stefan nipped at his throat with his blunt front teeth. The young man hissed but didn't try to get away. When Stefan finally broke the skin, the stranger whimpered and whined and humped his leg all the harder. Stefan rolled the first draw of blood over his tongue. It fairly sparked with energy, making his mouth feel tingly and a little numb. He swallowed and sucked, drawing more and more into his mouth, drinking fast. Strength infused his body, feeding the hunger. The taste was unlike a vampire's blood, but not quite human, and the power was intoxicating. Whatever this boy was, Stefan could quickly become addicted to it. Damon was approaching. Stefan could feel him, smell him, almost see him though his eyes were closed in ecstasy. His brother had been watching from the shadows, but now he was no longer content to be just a witness. Stefan started to writhe again, rubbing and twisting against the man in his arms. The yipping whimpers were becoming louder as the young man approached his orgasm, rubbing mindlessly against Stefan's body, trapped beneath him. Damon's presence fell across Stefan's back like a cloak--close, but not quite touching. Stefan pulled hard at the wounds, gathering the blood in his mouth and holding it. He knew what Damon liked. His brother's hand petted down his hair, then fisted at the base of his skull. Stefan was prepared for the movement and withdrew his fangs before Damon ripped him away. Damon jerked his head way back, almost bending Stefan in half. He was forced to drop his hand from the young man's throat, but the stranger continued to rub against Stefan's leg, lost in his own ecstasy. Stefan buried his hand in Damon's hair, mimicking his brother's tight grip as Damon claimed his mouth in a predatory kiss. He opened beneath Damon, giving over the blood he had held in his mouth like a bowl. Damon drank it up greedily, then licked away the traces. The young man gasped and shuddered and sagged against the wall. Only Stefan's leg and his hold on the boy's hip kept him from falling into the alleyway detritus. Damon slowly pulled away from Stefan's mouth, licking his lips with satisfaction. "Mmmm...a psychic. A powerful one. Good choice." Stefan mimicked the licking motion, searching out a last lingering taste of his brother's mouth. With a final lingering caress, he slipped his hand out of Damon's hair, but he remained still and silent, watching Damon's black eyes as he waited to be released. Damon stared at his lips for a long moment, looking as though he would kiss Stefan again, but finally he let go of Stefan's hair and let him stand up proper. Stefan straightened gracefully, coming to rest against the soft, warm man unconscious against the wall. He rested his cheek against his shoulder and licked at the lightly trickling blood that seeped out of the two small wounds. Damon leaned against the other side of the young man, half on top of Stefan. He held the man's chin, peering into his face. "I think he's spent," Stefan said casually, frowning at finding the wounds already closing and healing. The blood left a lingering, elusive flavor on his tongue, almost too sweet and yet enticing. He wanted to taste more. Damon pressed his face against the young man's cheek, nuzzling and rubbing against him. Bit by bit, the man was returning to consciousness. "He's young; he'll recover. He's still got quite a bit of life left in him. Enough for us both." The young man turned his face towards Damon, blindly seeking out his mouth with a deep moan. Stefan watched as his brother kissed the man thoroughly. The memory of that mouth on his own stayed with Stefan--he knew what dark magic Damon could conjure with his lips. He was struck with the sudden desire to see these two men in bed together, completely naked and locked in passion. Just the thought of it was intense. Damon, of course, read his mind. He broke the kiss and turned a wicked smile on Stefan. "Let's get him home." THE END